The Mercedes-Benz CL may be one of the grandest cars money can buy, thanks to its abundant horsepower, luxury, and interior space -- but that hasn't stopped Mercedes-Benz from cranking the car's appointments and appearance to another level. The automaker has released the Grand Edition package for the CL-Class, promising an even grander driving experience.

Grand Editions don’t receive any modifications underhood. As a result, if you order a CL550 (or a CL500 as it’s known abroad), you still make do with the Mercedes-Benz standard 429-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.6-liter V-8. Likewise, CL600 Grand Edition models remain powered by the 510-hp, twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-12.Outside of the engine compartment is a completely different story. CL550 and CL600 Grand Edition models receive plenty of unique interior and exterior appointments that help dress up the gargantuan coupe. Grand Edition models are available in one of three colors, including platinum black metallic, mocha black metallic, and a matte magno cashmere white (the latter, Benz says, is “currently very voguish,” if that’s your sort of thing).

From there, Grand Edition models receive the full AMG sport package touch, which leaves it with a full aerodynamic kit, including front and rear aprons and a set of side sills. The exterior is capped off with 20-inch, 10-spoke aluminum wheels, and Grand Edition badging – lest anyone think your high-class cruiser is merely the banal CL550 or CL600.Inside, seating surfaces seats are upholstered in specially dyed leather that reportedly enhances the hide’s natural grain and finish. Buyers can pick from one of three colors: Armagnac (the color of brandy), a light porcelain, and a deep black. Interior trim, as usual, can be finished in anything ranging from high-gloss walnut to black ash.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman says it’s too early to tell if the CL550 and CL600 Grand Editions will ultimately arrive in the American market, but if it does, expect it to cost a pretty penny. In Europe, the Grand Edition model adds roughly $6400 to the base price of a CL – which, in our market, runs between $114,975 and $159,575 for the CL550 and the CL600, respectively. Don’t forget to throw in another $2000 or so for that “voguish” white paint…Source: Daimler

Sure the "Toyota Prius Man's" comment was very cynical, but your quoted CNW report has been debunked so many times, I can hardly believe I still see it here. See "Controversy" here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNW_Marketing_Research to get an idea of how wrong your quoted article is.
A small economy car is definitely more environmentally friendly then a Prius, but then it is also smaller, often less safe and certainly less comfortable. All these, you "Some Guy", would not want to miss in any of your cars, I bet, for which you would also happily spend more for too. And then that car would probably be a gas guzzler as well.

Think again, eco-weenie. It's a well known fact that the Prius is bad for the environment. Here's a quote I found :
"The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.
The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?
You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.
However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?
Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.
Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.
The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.
So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses."
Toyota Prius > Lamborghini? You sir have obviously never driven a car; you obviously do not understand the pleasure of driving. And if you do not like driving, or cars for that matter, why are you on Motortrend?

Mercedes' simply cannot be compared to the astounding Toyota Prius. This mercedes is inferior, uglier, and has duller performance compared to this , I must say, cheap Mercedes. The Toyota is the car of the future; for the rich and poor citizens alike. I'm sure this Mercedes pollutes too much too, which is awful in this era of the progressive human civilization.
Toyota Prius > Lamborghini.

Mercedes' simply cannot be compared to the astounding Toyota Prius. This mercedes is inferior, uglier, and has duller performance compared to this , I must say, cheap Mercedes. The Toyota is the car of the future; for the rich and poor citizens alike. I'm sure this Mercedes pollutes too much too, which is awful in this era of the progressive human civilization.
Toyota Prius > Lamborghini.